


"How Do You Tell a Girl Something Like That?"

by Eastern_Lights



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Kya (Avatar) Lives, Kya and Hakoda being Good Parents, Love Confessions, Sokka being awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26033611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eastern_Lights/pseuds/Eastern_Lights
Summary: Having freed Suki and his parents from the Boiling rock prison, Sokka is now free to worry about other, more personal things.ORSokka has a love confession to make, and has no idea how to do it.
Relationships: Hakoda/Kya (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	"How Do You Tell a Girl Something Like That?"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nottodaysatan_yeet420](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nottodaysatan_yeet420/gifts).



Hakoda had always carried a weapon on him since he was twelve. It felt strange to be without one. So now, seated on the bottom stair of one of the many staircases of the Western Air temple, he used a whetstone to rid a hardwood stick of splinters. It would make a good spear, once he had the opportunity to hunt down an animal large enough for its tooth to make up the tip. Until then, a staff was a useful weapon too.   
He heard approaching footsteps and looked up. It was Sokka. He wasn't looking at his father, instead he focused on crumpling the hem of his tunic.  
"Uhh, Dad?" he began, "Can I talk to you a moment?"  
"Sure, go on," said Hakoda, trying to sound as reassuring as he could.  
Sokka sat down next to his father and awkwardly ran his hand through his hair.  
"I don't even know where to start..."  
Hakoda smiled.  
"It's okay, we have time."  
Sokka's shoulders sagged as he took a deep breath.  
"Okay.... well... it's about Suki."  
"You like her, don't you?" Hakoda asked, despite knowing the answer. Sokka kept his gaze down.  
"Yeah, I do, like, a lot. Dad, I think I love her," he confessed. He sounded troubled.  
His father put a hand on his shoulder.  
"That's... not a problem, is it?"  
"No!" the youth exclaimed, "I hope it's not, it's just... how do you tell a girl something like that?"  
Hakoda thought for a moment, then said:  
"Sokka, that is something everyone must figure out on their own. Just relax, and try to be yourself."  
Sokka jumped to his feet and started pacing around.  
"But that's it! When I'm myself, I look like an idiot!"  
"I'm sure you don't."  
"But what if I will now?"  
"Sokka-"  
"I mean, I know she likes me-"  
"Sokka."  
"- like, we kind of kissed once or twice-"  
"Sokka."  
"- but we haven't really been together that much and-"  
Hakoda grabbed his son by the shoulder and sat him back down.  
"Calm down, Sokka. It's okay to look stupid once in a while. It's what shows others that you're human. Look, if Suki likes you - and I really think she does - she won't care about you making an idiot out of yourself."  
Sokka still looked crestfallen.  
"Easy to say for you. You never made a fool of yourself."  
That actually made Hakoda laugh:  
"Do you really think that? I once got my head stuck in an arctic fox-badger burrow while trying to get its pelt as a gift for my girlfriend. I had to wait for her to find me and get me out of there."  
He had hoped to make Sokka laugh, but the youth simply asked:  
"Did she dump you afterwards?"  
"That was your mom, dummy."  
Sokka's jaw dropped. Then he chuckled.  
"No way!"  
Hakoda shrugged:  
"It's the truth. And she still married me."  
He gave his son a pat on the back.  
"So don't worry. You're sure to do better than me."  
Sokka smiled, and hugged his father.  
"Thanks a lot, Dad. I'll try."  
Then he jumped to his feet and ran off.

Nobody saw Sokka for the rest of the day, including Suki and Hakoda.   
"Don't worry," Kya told her husband, "he'll show up."  
"I know he will. But if he isn't talking to her, he's alone somewhere, overthinking," Hakoda sighed.  
"Mom, Dad, dinner's ready," came Katara's voice from their right. She was holding a small oil lamp to guide her through the evening gloom.  
"Thank you, sweetie, we'll be right there," Kya said. Then she took Hakoda's hand, kissed him on the cheek and tugged him gently in the direction of the group's campfire.  
"Come. Sokka would have to change very much indeed to willingly miss dinner."

Sokka didn't show up at dinner either. Suki volunteered to go look for him and set out deeper into the temple. Everyone around the campfire exchanged glances, some knowing, some confused.  
Ten minutes later, Suki emerged from the dark hallway, alone. When everyone looked at her, she shook her head, and started walking back to the campfire, but was stopped by a voice coming from one of the side corridors. It was Sokka.  
"Suki, wait!"  
The Kyoshi warrior turned.  
"Sokka! Where have you been?" she called.  
"Look, ehm, Suki... you know..." Sokka began.  
 _What is he doing?_ Kya thought, but then realized something - the hallway her son was in held such an angle to the camp that the only person Sokka could see was Suki.  
 _Oh dear._  
"There is something I gotta tell you," he continued.  
Suki shot a side glance at her confused friends at the campfire, but said:  
"Yes? What is it?"  
Sokka emerged from the hallway, his eyes fixed on the girl in front of him.  
"We've known each other for a while, you know..."  
"Yes?"  
"I just wanted to say that... I don't like you anymore."  
There was an awkward silence, everyone stiffened, only Chit Sang sat back and ate his rice like peanuts at a theatre. Hakoda hung his head and covered his eyes.  
Even Suki's mouth was open in shock, which probably lead to Sokka realizing how he'd sounded.  
"No! Not like, not at all..." he stammered, then almost shouted:  
"I love you, okay!?"  
His words echoed throughout the open area, extinguishing all other sounds. Suki smiled....  
"Yeay! Finally!" shouted Toph and started clapping. Sokka slowly, painfully, turned his head to the campfire, as if he didn't want to believe what he'd just heard. He finally registered the presence of all the people that had seen his confession. His eyes went wide, and in record time, he turned first white, then red as the Fire nation flag.  
Aang, Katara, Haru, the Duke and even Zuko burst out in laughter, but Suki promptly cut Sokka's suffering short by turning his head back to her and kissing him.  
"I love you too, you silly man," she said. He looked in equal measure shocked, happy and relieved. He probably would have stood there for a long time still, but Suki grabbed his hand, and dragged him towards the campfire.  
"Come, let's get something to eat."  
The whole way, Sokka dilligently avoided eye contact with everybody. Once the two were seated, he cleared his throat awkwardly:  
"You guys go ahead and forget what you saw."  
Katara chuckled:  
"Never."  
Everyone laughed, and this time, Sokka laughed with them. This evening couldn't have gone less according to his plan, but it was done, and now he had the girl of his dreams resting her head on his shoulder. That was what mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks a lot to nottodaysatan for the inspiration, and everybody for giving my fics a read! You guys are awesome


End file.
